23.07.2014 (Wednesday)

Maybe this job isn't fit for me, even though Squishy kept encouraging that I just needed a little more practice.

Squishy's shift was ending soon, so I watched as he cleaned himself up before packing some of his books into his bag. Apparently he brought his materials to do some reading when there were no customers, which of course made me think that he was such a hardworking chap.

I had nothing to do when I didn't have to prepare any drinks, so I spent most of my spare time staring at Squishy. He must've noticed though, because he kept looking up at me nervously before burying his face in his books. I took the hint and scooted away to the other corner, and we stayed like that for the rest of the day, with occasional orders coming in.

When the time came for him to leave, he slung his bag over his shoulders and slipped through the slim opening between the counter and the wall.

After he took a few steps away, a group of boys arrived in front of the shop, and placed a huge order of twelve drinks. I was absolutely flustered. The one giving me the orders was speaking so fast, I couldn't catch what he was saying. In the end, I had him repeating the whole list of drinks twice, but I still missed some of them.

"Are you deaf or something? I've been repeating my order for three times already and you still can't get it? Are you going to start preparing the drinks for us or what?" The tallest in the group hissed at me, decibels increasing with every word muttered.

I stayed silent, biting my lip as I held back my tears with my head hung low. It was only my third day and I'm already getting complained by my customers.

"Yes she is." A familiar voice answered the boy's question.

I raised my head up to see Squishy staring down at them.

“And who are you?” The guy in the group snapped.

“I’m one of the employees working here, and I’ll be taking your orders now.” Squishy whipped out a notebook and pen from one of the drawers below the counter and began scribbling down the drinks they wanted after getting them to repeat once more.

I shifted to the side because of the uncomfortable tension building, and let Squishy handle everything. I could practically feel the eyes of some in the lot boring holes into my skull, so I kept my head down throughout. After about fifteen agonising minutes, Squishy packed all the drinks into a few plastic bags and passed them to one of the shorter ones, who in turn paid as he sent daggers from his eyes. They finally left, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

“Are you alright?” He asked worriedly. From the corner of my eyes, I could see his hands reaching out towards, but they stopped halfway for a second before continuing until they reached either side of my shoulders.

“Thanks for that…” I murmured, not daring to look at Squishy’s face. “It was all my fault for not being able to keep up…”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault. I’ve come across these types of people before, all they do is go around and make things difficult for others.” He patted my back in an attempt to make me feel better.

“I wouldn't have known what to do if you didn't appear…” I let my tears run down my cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away.

“We learn from our mistakes, so now you learnt how to handle this, you can use it in a similar situation, okay?” His words managed to earn a small chuckle from me after I sobbed for a while. Taking it as a cue, he used his finger to wipe the tears off my face. I quickly leant back, hiding my pinked cheeks because of the contact.

“I’ll just do it myself.”

“I think I’ll stay until you end your shift today.” He took a seat on the chair in the deeper part of the shop.

“It’s okay, you don't have to.” I felt terrible that he had to remain behind because of me even after his shift had ended.

“Well you can’t stop me from staying, so just continue your work while I rest in the kitchen. Call me whenever you need help.” Squishy unpacked the books from his bag and began reading them again despite my protests.